I've decided to start this blog with a segment that I have delicately named "Things I Loathe." If you like what I have to say stay tuned for parts 2-5 and its natural counterpart: "Things I Adore."
Keep in mind that I will be limiting these posts to communication-related topics, as that is my field of expertise.*
On to the topic at hand:
I decided to embark on this blogging journey after reading this post.
My initial reaction was, "Why does such a thing exist? Who needs that many acronyms!?" We don't. Not if you want anyone to take you seriously. Would it really kill you to write out the whole phrase? We already have contractions, people. Let's not get greedy!
Then I was reminded of a story where students in New Zealand were granted permission to use 'text abbreviations' on exams. You can read the story here. Unbelievable. What is even more ridiculous is that professors might have to use the above translator to decipher the .com-isms! It's a shame that academic institutions would tolerate informal speech in a formal setting, but now it appears that corporations are easing off as well.**
There is NO excuse for this behavior. Most people have a high school education these days; write like it. You are not saving money and time by using text-speak. Practitioners simply make themselves look unprofessional and uneducated. Leave the LOL, OMG, TTYL, :), <(*.*)>, and gr8 to the teens.
*No, I don't think I'm an expert (yet). If you have a better word to describe "the topic I am most interested, schooled and versed in" then please share with the class.
**Since I don't see a 'verified by' check mark, I will give a lot of leeway as the company may have been represented by an impostor.
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